A vehicle's electrical system is designed to be powered by an on-board battery. However, there are situations when power for a vehicle electrical system must be provided from some external source other than the vehicle's battery. For example, during initial vehicle build in an assembly-plant, as the vehicle progresses through various assembly-line stages when the battery is disconnected from its electrical system for safety considerations, an external power source is required to systematically power-up a specific vehicle system to complete its construction. Additionally, after a vehicle leaves the assembly-line its battery may lose charge, and a jump start may be required from an auxiliary power source, e.g. from another vehicle.
Connecting means or devices typically used for this purpose are jumper cables of the type which have separate clamp or clip-type connectors for attaching the ends of a cable to terminals of the vehicle's electrical system or directly to its battery. Usually these connectors are alligator-type clamps, operation of which requires them to be individually squeezed to open and then released to close for either attachment to or detachment from the electrical system terminals. Operation of typical jumper cables is therefore either a two-handed, or a two-step affair that requires a certain minimum time and concentration to complete.
In view of the above it becomes apparent that elimination of auxiliary power supply attachment steps which are cumbersome and/or time-consuming would be desirable, particularly in a vehicle assembly-plant environment.